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The Sea Dragon

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Alrician

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« on: <07-22-21/0544:29> »
In "Phantome" ("Collapsing Now") one gets the impression that the sea dragon is actually "good". Metahuman losses are avoided as far as possible in your actions, it protects the ecosystem and also the metamen who live in it.

I have the impression that the reader is deliberately given the impression that both Jackpoint members and the corporations are trying to give it/her a bad reputation.

What's your opinion? Do you use them in campaigns and if so, how?
« Last Edit: <07-22-21/0547:13> by Alrician »

MercilessMing

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« Reply #1 on: <07-22-21/1219:34> »
I haven't used the Sea Dragon as a campaign faction YET, other than its appearance in Free Seattle.  The Sea Dragon is super important to Seattle because they're setting it up that city to be the Sea Dragon's territory.  Is it a "good" dragon?  Loosely... uh, yes?  Maybe?  They've made it into one of the "environmental defender" dragons like Hualpa and they are usually opposed to the megacorps.  Yes, for some reason they are characterizing it as having some regard for loss of metahuman life.  However, it's also in an aggressive action period as it seeks to claim territory, so it's going to be doing some terrible things as well.

Beta

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« Reply #2 on: <07-23-21/1426:12> »
It depends a lot on your definition of 'good.'  You'll notice that humanity has mostly treated the oceans as a 'commons' since we first figured out how to paddle out on it.  Meaning we've exploited it for food and travel, more recently for other resources, all while dumping our sewage and industrial wastes into it, letting pollution fall into it, spilling oils from ships, and so on.

By 2080 it sounds like the oceans are in even worse state than they are in our contemporary world, and a collapse of the ocean ecosystems would completely frag the whole planet.  So in that the Sea Dragon is trying to stop that, you could say that it is good; its actions make the survival of human civilization more likely.

On the other hand, so much human infrastructure and wealth is built on treating the oceans as a commons.  If that suddenly becomes the private fief of the Sea Dragon, and the Sea Dragon has to permit any activity effecting the ocean -- fishing, shipping, letting impure run-off enter it -- the implications are huge.  For starters it would severely screw Wuxing and Maersk, but it would also make pretty much everything more expensive (transport by ship is by far the cheapest way to ship most things), and then think how many major world cities developed because they are good ports?  And having to actually treat and clean on the sewage and waist? 

The Sea Dragon might save the patient, but not without amputating a limb or two (figuratively)

carmachu

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« Reply #3 on: <05-07-22/0800:10> »
The old axiom of "never cut a deal with a dragon" comes to mind. Appears to be good but they always have their own agenda.

mik212

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« Reply #4 on: <05-07-22/1049:08> »
I think it has also been heavily implied recently that there is something nasty down sealed in the ocean and all the pollution is weakening the seal. Sort of. Plan 9 mentioned the theory and a little bit later Hestaby mentioned that people should listen to Plan 9 more. Sometimes they get it right.

So basically I don't think the Sea Dragon has any real affection for metahumanity, she supposedly has been quite ruthless against certain factions and polluters. But she cares deeply for the oceans and probably realizes that killing metahumans off probably isn't the best call overall for pragmatic reasons.